The 2008 United States Presidential election electrified the entire continent of Africa and her people like no other election in the modern history of the United States.
Incontrovertibly, this was because one of the nominated presidential candidates was Africa son of the soil. On that faithful night of November 4th, 2008, most Africans all over the continent stayed up all night to hear the election results and to celebrate the victory of Barack Obama. The enthusiasm and bliss prompted the then president of Kenya to declare Thursday November 6th, 2008 a public holiday to celebrate the victory of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States.
Then, many Africans believed and hoped that Obama presidency will enunciate strategic policies that will help Africa much more than the Presidency of Bill Clinton and George Bush 43. It is no secret that President Bill Clinton African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was an audacious Africa-focused foreign policy to help the continent gain access to the American market. Whether Africa was able to leverage the policy to their benefit is another discussion. But the truth is that the bold move of the Clinton policy placed Africa in the radar of most American investors. President Clinton also travelled widely around African during his presidency.
It is also not a secret that President Bush did a lot for Africa in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatments. His President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR/Emergency Plan) program, a commitment of $15 billion over five years (2003–2008) by the United States to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic is credited with having helped to avert about 1.1 million deaths in Africa. This amount of HIV aid was first of its kind. It was also a huge Africa-centered policy and a genuine interest by President Bush to help Africa fight the scourge of the epidemics on the continent. Although I do not agree with most of Bush’s foreign policies but he deserves encomium for taking such policy initiatives towards Africa which was uncommon for a conservative American president.
President Obama has spent only 20 hours in Africa since he became the president of the United States in 2008. During his visit to Ghana in 2009, he gave speeches that emphasized the need to fight corruption, support good governance, resolve Africa’s endless conflicts, and empower Africans to solve Africa problems. Many experts in Africa affairs thought then that those speeches would metamorphose into a gargantuan Africa-specific policy from Obama’s government. But that is yet to happen.
It is true that Africa’s problems need to be resolved by Africans. I concur and also of the strong opinion that no one (not even Obama) can solve Africa’s myriad problems besides Africans. Africans would need to rise and take the destiny of the continent into their hands. But what is also true is that the United States as the Super Power has a great role to play in assisting Africa in her match towards economic growth and empowerment. The economic strength of China today is partly because of the huge investment Americans made in China over the last decades. Obama is aware of the tools at his disposal that he can marshal and bring to bear as the President of the United States to promote American investors interest in Africa.
Although during his first term in office, President Obama has launched some new initiatives that would benefit Africa but they are not specific to the African continent like Clinton’s AGOA and Bush’s PEPFAR. What is well known is that Obama has launched strong US military counter-insurgency efforts all over every nook and cranny of Africa using the AFRICOM platform. Some policy strategists believe this is a deliberate political calculus by the Obama’s team. Since Obama has strong ties to Africa, it will be a political free gift for the Republicans to blast and criticize him if he appears to be focused on promoting Africa’s affairs. This they believe has made Obama less focus in making gigantic economic policy targeted at Africa alone. The question is: Will Obama sacrifice his political survival for the benefit of Africa? Your guess is as good as mine.
Mwangi S. Kimenyi (senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative) rightly suggested “Increasing global competition necessitates that the United States engage Africa more deeply. While it is hoped that a [Obama] second term would bring good tidings to Africa, there is still an opportunity for President Obama to make an imprint in the region during the remainder of his first term. We propose that the president make a well coordinated trip to a number of African countries accompanied by business executives and investors. The president must send the signal that Africa is a much better place to invest and that he supports policies that provide business incentives to invest in the continent. This approach to supporting Africa will not only help Africa, but will also contribute to economic growth in the United States, and also position the United States to better compete with China and other countries.”
While most Africans understand the need for Obama to survive his first term and win the second term election, it will be a colossal disappointment to Africans if President Obama does not leave a policy legacy that directly affects the people of the continent during his second term – if there is a second term. Now is the time for the Obama Government to come up with a transformative, focused and creative policy for Africa beyond the “five pillars” mentioned by Jonnie Carson (U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs) on the States Department website. Africa does not need a hand out but opportunity. The world is waiting and Africa is watching!
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